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About Pune

Pune is in Maharashtra, India. It is considered the state's cultural capital and is the second largest city in the state. Know More..

About Pune

Pune is in Maharashtra, India. It is considered the state's cultural capital and is the second largest city in the state.

Well known for educational tourism, comes along with nice blend of cultural, business, health, cuisine tourism with backdrop of its own unique traditions mixed with modernism and historicity. The large student population in the city makes for a lively nightlife and vibrant atmosphere. Pune also houses fantastic restaurants, good museums and is well known for its surrounding hill forts which offer panoramic bird's-eye views.

About

Pune is a gateway to get acquainted and study a glorious side of human past, with the help of forts, monuments, museums and institutions that offer glimpses into how human will can bring purpose to and welfare with movements of sovereignty and freedom. Ideal lessons in to concepts of public administration, welfare,confidence and also some of unique warfare tactics can be learned from the history of medieval Maratha history of King Shivaji. Where as a visit to Aga Khan Palace brings forth Mahatma Gandhi's monumental non-violent freedom struggle. How do you feel, to hear a quote "Freedom is my birth right"; make a visit to Gayakwadwada museum to know more.Interested in ancient Indian history or Indology then Deccan college, Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute are the places of research and learning and do house museums too .Pune also has lot to offer on history of social reform movements.

Pune has history of nearly 1600 years.Pataleshwar caves (Near Jangli Maharaj Road) from the 5th century is an evidence to Pune’s old settlements. Since Pune is in the state of Maharashtra, most of the residents are Marathis (or Maharashtrians).

There is a lot to be said about Pune being called "Oxford of the East". Simply put, Pune is a bona fide, one hundred percent university town. Although town it isn't, it seems too much to call it a University city. There are colleges and institutes galore here. From engineering (COEP) to medicine (BJ), arts (FC) to science (SP), Pune has everything. And it has the single most variety of students in India; Besides, there are students from outside India. What this all means is that in Pune, you're always young. The vibrancy is tremendous; for example just stroll along Fergusson road on a Saturday evening. It's full, crowded and thriving and extremely lively. Or go to Durga Coffee House on Paud Road near MIT College in early December or early June at about 12 midnight. You will see a massive crowd of students gulping down hot coffee in an attempt to stay awake for their examinations.

The city contains the headquarters of an administrative division officially known as the Pune division.

The climate of Pune is quite pleasant. Pune has three distinct seasons: summer, monsoon and winter. Summers are typically hot with maximum temperatures ranging from 35 to 42°C. The warmest month in Pune is generally April as compared to the rest of the Deccan Plateau where it is May.

Pune does not get very hot, even during peak summer the air is cool and even standing under a tree can give respite form the heat. However, as sunlight can be intense leading to skin tan and sun-burn, be sure to carry and use sunscreens (above SPF-30). The nights in Pune are significantly cooler than most other parts in this region owing to its high altitude.

The average rainfall is approx 550mm. The city often receives local and heavy thundershowers with heavy downpours in May, which brings down the temperature. The rainy season can sometimes be gloomy, with cloud cover for days together. In winter, day temperatures can be as low as 24 - 28°C and temperatures at night as low as 5 - 8°C. Winters are generally dry. Normally, the climate in Pune is pleasant during the month of November.

Attitudes in Pune are liberal. The city used to be very traditional and conservative, but times have changed. The city is not the conservative small-town of old, but now is a much more open-minded developed city.

Talk

Pune is a fairly cosmopolitan city. Although Marathi is the official language of the city and also the most common language spoken on the streets, most people also speak Hindi along with English.

Districts

Pune, despite being considered a small city, is growing very fast. Its some prominent areas are:

How to Reach

Pune is a major transportation hub for Western Maharashtra. It serves as the gateway for the numerous hill stations in the Sahyadri Hills.

Pune currently does not have a civil airport to its name. All commercial air carriers operate from the military airport located at Lohegaon. Pune airport [3] is served by almost all domestic carriers. The number of flights is however limited since the airport is under the control of the Air-force. Currently, international flights operate only to Dubai and Frankfurt. If getting a direct flight proves difficult, then taking a flight to Mumbai and then traveling by taxi or train to Pune is a feasible option. A long-distance private taxi journey should take around three hours and costs about Rs 1600.

The airport is in Lohegaon, which is around 10km from the city center, and takes about 30 minutes - 1 hour to reach (depending on traffic conditions).

Flights connecting Pune:

Pune is well connected to other Indian cities by rail. Check train availability on the Indian Rail website [4] before you go, as train timings are subject to change.

Pune City Station is an above average Indian station, with an information booth, an internet cafe and computerized ticket booking office. Trolleys are not available, but porters can be hired to help with luggage. Licensed porters wear a red shirt with a metallic arm-band bearing their serial number. The official rates in Maharashtra currently are as follows-

Below is a list of services connecting Pune with different parts of India:

nTourists traveling between Pune and Mumbai are advised to travel by the state government run buses (MSRTC) wherever possible. These buses cost almost the same (Rs.320) as the private buses and they have less stops on the way as private buses try to pick passengers on the way. Buses run very frequently (every 15 mins) and are also punctual. You can be sure of reaching your destination within the stipulated time. Most of the private buses wait till they get enough passengers before departing - which causes a lot of delay in getting to your destination.

Pune is served by three national highways (NH) and an expressway.

Bus Stations in Pune

Get around

City buses in Pune are run by the PMPML. Although the vehicles are crowded and smoke-belching, the network is very extensive. Almost all parts of the city are connected by the PMPML city buses. Major city bus stands include Corporation, Shivaji Nagar, Swargate, Kothrud depot, Nigdi, Hadapsar, Katraj and Deccan. Shivaji Nagar is believed to be the busiest bus stand in the state of Maharashtra. The fare is calculated by distance, and ranges from Rs 5 (14 US cents) to Rs 22 (40 US cents).

There is also a huge army of three wheeled rickshaws. There are some prepaid rickshaw stands at Shivajinagar, Swargate Bus Depot and Lohegaon Airport. Nevertheless, always demand that they use the meter and that they show you the sheet of paper (referred as Tariff Card) which converts the rickshaw meter readings to the actual cost in rupees. As of Nov 2011 the conversion equation is : Cost = 10 * Reading + 1, where "Cost" is the actual fare in rupees and "Reading" is the meter reading which is supposed to be Kilometers traveled. Thus a 2 on the meter is actually Rs (10*2 + 1) = Rs 21. Or a 3.50 on the meter is Rs (3.5*10 + 1) = Rs 36.

The driver may occasionally stop to ask for directions depending on how familiar he is with the area. All rickshaws plying in the Municipal Corporation limits are supposed to charge fare according to tariff card. Most of the times they will try to charge you a little extra but that won't be too much. You can very well argue with them based on the conversion equation stated above, and sometimes they will agree to it.

Nowadays, many auto rickshaw drivers try to charge extra for long distances or very short distances, or they refuse the fare. If they realise you are not from the city, they may try to take longer routes to the destination to charge extra money from you. Thus, outsiders and foreigners, use your own judgement before boarding any auto rickshaw. Stick to the demand of charging by meter and refuse strongly to pay any extra amount, unless it is midnight. Autorickshaw drivers may also refuse to travel to quite a few parts of the city as per their convenience; however, this is against the law if their meter reads "on hire" in the upright position. If the sign is turned sideways, the rickshaw driver is not technically working and can refuse you.

It is very common for rickshaw drivers plying between 11PM and 6AM to demand 1.5 times the normal rates for the journey. You are advised to get this cleared with the driver before boarding the rickshaw. It is also sometimes advisable to flag a rickshaw from the streets (if practical and possible) instead of boarding one from the stands as often, rickshaw drivers waiting in stands demand more fare.

If you have complaints against auto drivers for not accepting short distance rides (or any rides), asking more meter fare, not using a meter, taking other passengers along the way, carrying more passengers than allowed capacity, stopping at bus stands or other similar complaints of serious nature, you can email or call the Road Transport Authorities at 020-22051414 or 020-27492828 (PCMC) or email rtopune@dataone.in. Traffic cops usually come right away to the spot to book a complaint against the driver. Commuters can also send their MMS pictures at +91 9420218338. The complaints should clearly mention all details including the auto’s registration number, the time of taking the rickshaw, details of auto fare, the distance commuted, locations, date, time, nature of complaint.

This city was once known as the city of bicycles, but now it has turned into the city of motorcycles. Most traffic rules are completely ignored in Pune, since there are ten times as many two-wheelers as there are cars. Lane discipline is generally tough to follow because of this reason. The general attitude towards riding motorbikes in the city is that of total ignorance of any set forth traffic regulations along with complete disregard of one's safety (not wearing a helmet). Here people ride motorbikes as if they are riding a war horse and will generally try to overtake every vehicle in front. Minor accidents on motorbikes are common; You are advised to be careful even when your signal is green as the traffic flow from other direction generally does not stop immediately.

Pune's roads might turn to horrid potholes from smooth tarmac in matter of seconds when it rains. Always be on a lookout. If you are driving a car always be careful, since motorbike riders may overtake you from left or right and cut lanes without warning. Of late, there has been an improvement by addition of a number of bicycle tracks all over.

That said, if you do want to hire a two wheeler, there are two outfits who rent '2 wheels' in Pune.

See

Pune is the cultural capital of Maharashtra. The Marathi film industry is also based here.

"" patya"" This one is much interesting & annoying,irritating, funny, educational everything of Pune. Non puneit find it very entertaining and funny for its meaning. you will find various instructional boards all over Pune. they may be rgarding owner ship, manners to be followed, no parking instructions & you name it. You get true meaning of it by talking to the creater of it. For that you must have good knowledge of marathi.

Diveagar is among few beaches of konkan. It is approximately 160 km away from Pune. It takes around 4 hours to reach there from public transport, if you are taking your own ride then it will take around 3:30 hours. This is a very beautiful beach. It is a small village surrounded by greenery. It is better to go for two days (one night stay). Good veg and non veg food is available. Don't forget to have veg food of Mr Bapat. His speciality is Modak, a traditional Indian sweet coconut dumpling.

A nice place to stay at Diveagar is Ameya Cottage, which is located near to the Bus Stand.

Malshej Ghat: Malshej Ghat is among the most popular outing spot from Pune. This place is located amidst the sahyadri Hills. This place is popular among the local as well as other tourists. It is a perfect place for nature lovers, where they can spend their holidays. Malshej Ghat is one of the beautiful Hill stations of Maharashtra. There are many beautiful locations and some beautiful waterfalls which tourists to fall in love with this place.

Rajmachi Rajmachi (Udhewadi) is a small village in the rugged mountains of Sahyadri in India. There are two forts which were built by Shivaji Emperor during 17th century. It is a famous spot for trekking. It is about 15 km treking distance from Lonavla. Rajmachi can be reached by 2 ways, the tough route from Kondivade village near Karjat and the other easy but long way route from Lonavala. In rainy season this place is filled with giant waterfalls and greenery.

Do

Pune has a full calendar of events, ranging from Classical Music to Rock Concerts. However, Pune's most famous festival is the Pune Festival, which is held during the Ganesha Mahotsav.

A number of College festivals have become very commercialised, but still attract big crowds and a very high degree of competition from colleges all over Pune. Verve organised by Express Youth Forum is the biggest inter-collegiate cultural festival in India while Concepts organized by the Pune Institute of Computer Technology (PICT) is a very popular engineering (technical) event. The College of Engineering, Pune also organizes a technical festival which attracts participants from all over India. So all year round, there is enough excitement to keep Puneites and tourists on their toes!

Learn

One of Pune's nicknames is Oxford of the East. This is due to the presence of many renowned educational universities and colleges. Some of the prominent ones are:

Buy

Laxminarayan Best Chiwda they are famous for their Rice flakes Chiwda, Cornflakes Chiwda, Potato chiwda, Chitales's Bakarwadi and Mango Barfi.

Pune is a city where you will find an excellent range of streetside shops as well as a few outstanding malls. Pune is a good place to pick up some Indian slippers made of rubber. Kolhapuri chappals can also be bought off the pavement. They tend to be soft and comfortable, and are manufactured in the Maharashtrian town of Kolhapur a few hundred miles south of Pune.

All the places listed here are places where you can bargain hard and get some good stuff off the pavement for rock-bottom prices.

Puneites are crazy about books. This shows in the number of excellent bookshops scattered throughout the city. The area known as 'Appa Balwant Chowk' is famous for various big and small book shops. Some of them specialize in special subjects like Law books,management books,religious books,computer books,music books etc.

Birds of Pune available from Centre for Environment Education and Kalpavriksh

Pune is a technology hub and is home to IT/ITES/BPO professionals. Pune also has one of the highest densities of Engineers and Management graduates pursuing studies. Sony World, House of Laptops, Croma are electronics chains dishing out the goodies.

Being a student town, Pune has a good selection of mid priced hair salons.

Eat

Pune is undoubtedly a great place to eat. Fergusson College Road is full of budget eateries serving delicous hot food at nominal charges. For a range of multi-cuisine restaurants, visit ABC Farms, Koregaon Park, which houses the city's best restaurants. Almost all restaurants open and close at similar hours. 10 in the morning to 11 at night is the usual. Of course, restaurant bars stay open till at least midnight. Misals are a Pune favourite, if you can stomach the spice in them. They are a tasty meal and a visit to Bedekar Misal or Shree Uphar Gruha is a must. They are located in the Peth areas and are famous. Shree Uphar Gruha is located at Tulsi Baug. Its a small joint but dishes out tasty Misal and fritters.

For variety, head out to Koregaon Park. North Main Road is a lane with more than 50 restaurants. It offers a choice of cuisine including Italian, French, Mexican, Thai, Japanese and a variety of local Indian food; there is a restaurant to fit every taste and mood. ABC farms in Koregaon Park has many restaurants at one place - ideal when you cannot decide before leaving for dinner. Koregaon Park is known as The Restaurant Suburb, and holds a similar status to Pune that Bandra holds to Mumbai.

Refreshing Indian drinks such as Jal Jeera (a cumin seed drink) and Nimbu Pani (lemon water/soda) are sold on the sidewalk for around Rs 5 per glass.

Alcohol is easily available all over town, though most of the bars are in Koregaon Park and upmarket areas. Most bars open in the afternoon and close an hour or two after midnight.

There is no lack of coffee shops in the city. Some of the restaurants listed above serve good coffee, or head to a branch of the Barista or Cafe Coffee Day chains, both of which have numerous locations around town. The FC Road and MG Road branches of Barista are wi-fi hotspots.

Sleep

Pune has a small but good range of top-end hotels. Prices are generally more than those in the US. A double room tends to be priced at USD 200 to 400 per night. During the lean season, good discounts are available.

There are many spots near Pune in which you can go for camping. Camping can be done safely on spots such as Lonavala, Tungarli Lake,Valvan Lake, Rajmachi ,Mahableshwar, Panchgani,Kashid & Phansad.

Rappelling,Lake Crossing,Adventure Sports,paint ball in Jungle setup.

A day trip from Pune

Pune - Bhuleshwar - Purandar - Sinhagad - Pune

This round trip takes in some of the interesting hill forts around Pune. Total distance is about 220km and will take 6 hours just to drive the loop, with lunch and sightseeing added on. The full trip could take up to 12 hours so leave a full day. It is suggested that this trip is undertaken either by motorcycle or 4WD due to the state of some of the roads that are encountered. It is possible to make the journey in a regular car (and many do - even auto ricks) but it will take longer and there will be a heavy toll on the cars suspension. To be as safe as possible you would also want some experience on driving on broken/ unsurfaced roads and dealing with the challenges of driving in India.

Leave Pune on the National Highway 9 (Pune Solapur Highway) which passes the racecourse. This is a toll road and also very busy with cars and trucks. If you have taken a motorcycle be very careful.

The turn off to Bhuleshwar is about 35km from Pune and shortly after the second toll booth (about 2km before Yavat village). A concrete bridge crosses a canal and the turn off is to the right just before the bridge. There is no sign in English, but there is a sign to Deccan Industrial Explosives pte. After 5km or so the road will climb into some ghats, where the road becomes quite broken. Once you reach the top of the ghats you will see the temple and a prominent radio mast to the right. The turn to the temple is the next right, the road becomes quite steep at some points.

After visiting the temple and fort (allow 30 to 40 mins), return to the road and turn right where you turned off. This road will take you to Saswad (or Sasvad on some maps). There are several turnoffs, keep heading west, but also plenty of people to ask the way, nearly everyone knows Saswad. The scenery is quite flat though enlivened by scenes of Indian rural life. The road is paved but quite rough. You can take lunch when you reach the town.

Thereafter, ask the way for Purandar itself or Nasrapur which is where the road goes. Many people know it. The road is the Diwale to Narayanpur road. In fact the hill itself is easy to spot as it towers above Narayanpur. After 5km after the turnoff from you will reach a left fork which is signed (not in English). Take this and follow the twisty road to Purandar. At time of writing (October 09) the majority of the road is totally unsurfaced (awaiting surfacing) so would be muddy during rain and there is also the possibility of dealing with the resurfacing activity. Allow 30 minutes to enjoy the views and look at the abandoned army buildings and another 1.5 hours to climb to the top and explore.

It will take about 15 minutes to regain the main ro phone=ad if you have a motorbike. Turn left when you reach it and enjoy the smooth tarmac and twists of the road as you pass between the two hills. Eventually you will reach National highway 4 (also a toll road), turn right and again pay attention to the road hazards.

Approximately 12km later at Khed take a left turn towards Shivapur. Pass through towards Kondapur, where you take a right fork, thereafter at the T-junction take the left which leads to Sinhagad Fort.

In terms of time to spend here it is best to gauge your stamina and enthusiasm against the amount of light you have left, as it is better to end the journey in daylight rather than drive at night.

Retrace your steps to NH4 and then follow this back to Pune. You will arrive in the Bibvewadi area in the south of the city.

Connect

A large number of internet cafes dot the city. Most private cafes charge about Rs 10-25 (35-55 US cents) an hour. However, the Reliance World chain of cyber cafes run by Reliance Communications offer fast broadband connections at around a dollar per hour. There are 8 branches in Pune

Stay safe

Pune is by and large a very safe place. Violent crime is low, although it's important to keep an eye on your belongings in public, as petty theft can occur. Do report any such activity to the police. Keep away from the touts.

Locals are by and large friendly and mild mannered, though incidents of mugging have been reported on the outskirts of Pune, especially on highways and desolate stretches. If you face a vehicle breakdown after dark, its best to stay in the vehicle and phone for help.

Although Pune is generally safe for women, it's advisable not to venture out alone into dark and isolated places. Hiring cabs at night without one or more companions is not recommended. Climbing the surrounding hills alone is tempting but unwise-and this goes for both sexes! Having said that, women can confidently walk the streets or visit the shops/pubs/restaurants in the popular residential or commercial areas after sunset.

Driving in Pune is not for the weak-hearted. Like other Indian metros, Pune has seen an virtual explosion in traffic in recent years, and the infrastructure is struggling to keep pace. Lack of discipline especially during overtaking and driving on the wrong side is rampant in the city and on highways. Its common to see rude and impatient drivers at intersections honking away at pedestrians. Enforcement of traffic rules leaves a lot to be desired, unlike Mumbai or other major cities. Road conditions deteriorate especially in heavy traffic areas during monsoon. According to recent reports (2008), 1,617 persons suffered injuries and 477 fatalities in road accidents occurred in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. If you are driving, its a good idea to drive defensively. Be courteous to fellow motorists and maintain lane discipline. Though the helmet rule is not strictly enforced, its always a good idea to wear a helmet while riding a two wheeler.